Century-old Kannada schools to be developed as heritage institutions: KDA Chairman

Century-old government Kannada schools in the State will be developed as heritage institutions, with each district identifying at least one such school for preservation and development, Kannada Development Authority Chairman Purushottama Bilimale said on Thursday.

He also reiterated that Kannada must be implemented mandatorily in government administration and public services across the State.

Addressing reporters after reviewing the progress of Kannada implementation with district-level officers at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Chamarajanagar, Mr. Bilimale said district administrations had been asked to prepare a list of century-old government Kannada schools to facilitate the initiative.

Expressing concern over the lack of property records for government schools, he said around 19,700 government schools across Karnataka do not have registered property documents, leaving the school land vulnerable to encroachment after the institutions are closed.

In Chamarajanagar district alone, 115 government schools reportedly lack such records. He said the issue would be taken up with the State government to ensure that government school land remains in government ownership even after the schools cease to function.

Mr. Bilimale said all district-level officials had been directed to ensure the mandatory implementation of Kannada in government administration and stressed that the language should be used effectively across all government departments.

The Kannada Development Authority has visited 24 districts over the past one-and-a-half years and has interacted with officials from more than 1,200 government departments to assess the implementation of Kannada in administration, he said.

Commending Chamarajanagar for preserving the spirit of Kannada despite being a border district with linguistic diversity, Mr. Bilimale said the district administration and various departments had shown commendable commitment to promoting the language. He added that other districts should emulate the model.

Referring to complaints from rural residents about language barriers in banks, the KDA Chairman said many bank officials from outside Karnataka were unable to communicate in Kannada. He called for Kannada language training for bank employees and urged the government to conduct banking recruitment examinations in all 22 scheduled languages, enabling candidates to write the examinations in their mother tongue. He also stressed the need to provide greater employment opportunities for Kannadigas in the banking sector.

Mr. Bilimale said the government had already issued a circular directing industries established on land allotted by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board to reserve 40% of jobs for local Kannadigas. However, he alleged that the directive was not being implemented effectively and urged district administrations to inspect industries, verify compliance, and submit reports on local employment to the government.

Calling for wider use of Kannada in public life, Mr. Bilimale said police stations and tourist destinations should display Kannada signboards, receipts issued at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills temple should be printed in Kannada, and doctors should write at least patients’ names in Kannada on prescriptions. He also advocated for Kannada-medium education up to class 5 in Karnataka Public Schools to strengthen Kannada learning among future generations.